Judge praises T.I.’  sets $3M bail

With all the questions swirling around Clifford “T.I.” Harris Jr. since his arrest on federal weapons charges, perhaps the most pointed came from the judge who is hearing the superstar rapper’s case.

“Mr. Harris is an exceptionally gifted and talented musician. He is exceptionally generous and has reached out to the community,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman said during a bail hearing last week, with the defendant sitting before him in a navy pinstriped suit. “Somebody who has so many gifts to do good and do well ... risks it all by showing up at a gun deal.”

Baverman went on to release the rapper on $3 million bail Friday, and said the singer must remain under house arrest at a home in greater Atlanta..

Now the friends and fans of Harris are left to wonder: How could a man at the top of his career risk it all in such a public, foolish act — just blocks from a stage that would only increase his fame? Or does this drug dealer made good, who recently watched his best friend die after a highway gun battle, actually need illegal machine guns for protection?

“When you grow up in an environment that’s rough, you deal with different things than the average person,” said Chi Dibiase, 27, of Atlanta. “These street laws that we try to abide by ... it’s more real to us than damn near anything else, and respect is the No. 1 thing.”

A decade ago, Harris was hustling crack on the streets of northwest Atlanta, looking for his big rap break. He was first arrested at 17 and sentenced to seven years’ probation. More arrests followed, even as his rap career took off, and soon Harris found himself in jail for violating his probation as the spoils of music royalty lay just beyond his grasp.

At 27, Harris is years and, seemingly, a world away from the criminal life, having grown into his self-proclaimed title of “King of the South.” But authorities say that on Oct. 13, about an hour before a scheduled performance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards, Harris showed up to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers. He already had three guns in his car — one of them loaded — when he was arrested, authorities say.

Harris’ career had been on a steady climb in recent years, with chart-topping albums, Grammy awards, movie roles and Chevy commercials.